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Illinois shut out of Medicaid after Trump administration halts federal grants and loans — The Trump administration's federal freeze has shut Illinois out of Medicaid, according to Gov. JB Pritzker's office. The government-funded health insurance program covered about 3.9 million people …
Discussion:
New Republic, Semafor, Fortune, Wirepoints and Raw Story
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White House says Medicaid portal ‘will be back online shortly’ after Trump funding freeze blamed … Medicaid reimbursement portals were down Tuesday in every U.S. state on the heels of a funding freeze ordered by the Trump administration of federal grants and loans, Sen. Ron Wyden said.
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Washington Examiner, Bloomberg, ABC News, Mother Jones, Hollywood Life, Raw Story, WUSA, FOX 32 Chicago, PoliticusUSA, Arizona Mirror, Chicago Tribune and The Guardian
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As some Medicaid sites freeze up, White House acts to clarify pause on grants and programs — Payments system appears to be an issue after budget office issued broadly worded memo — WASHINGTON — A memo from the White House budget office indicates that Medicaid payments should not be affected …
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Republican congressman suggests some children receiving free school lunches should work at McDonald's instead — Rep. Rich McCormick said that the freeze on federal aid would allow the government to review all programs including ones that provide free school lunches to low-income children.
Discussion:
New Republic, Alternet.org and Raw Story
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White House pauses all federal grants, sparking confusion — Trillions of dollars could be on hold, according to an Office of Management and Budget memo. — The White House budget office is ordering a pause to all grants and loans disbursed by the federal government …
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The Handbasket, Vox, The Hill, NOTUS, New York Times, Associated Press, HotAir, The Atlantic, USA Today, FedScoop, Reuters, Raw Story, Wall Street Journal, Axios, Mercury News, The Post Millennial, Forbes, Fortune, Good Politics/Bad Politics, Mock Paper Scissors, RedState and No More Mister Nice Blog
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Medicaid, Head Start, health centers say they're locked out of federal funding website — A wide range of organizations and agencies that depend on federal health department funds say they have been locked out of the online system responsible for tracking and depositing their money …
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HuffPost, Business Insider, The Guardian, Mock Paper Scissors, Alternet.org and Center For Children …
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Non-profits, health groups sue over Trump's freeze on grants, loans
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Business Insider, The Guardian, Washington Examiner, CNBC, New Republic, GovExec.com, Raw Story, WVEC, Reuters, Alternet.org, Minnesota Reformer and Hollywood Life
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White House Budget Office Orders Pause in All Federal Loans and Grants
Discussion:
The Hill, Rolling Stone, Politico, VTDigger, Lawyers, Guns & Money, New Jersey Globe, Bloomberg, The Independent, Jill Filipovic and Fox News
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States lose access to Medicaid payment portal amid Trump federal aid freeze
Discussion:
Quartz, Bloomberg, Mediaite, NewsNation, MeidasTouch News and Hollywood Life
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Trump's funding freeze creates widespread confusion
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New York Times, The Hill, USA Today, Missouri Independent, State of California, Los Angeles Times, Roll Call, E&E News, Raw Story, Forbes and Iowa Capital Dispatch
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Legal battle looms as Trump orders a funding freeze during a review of federal loans and grants
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CBS News, HuffPost, Politico, Axios, USA Today, Bloomberg, Roll Call, KSNT 27 News, The Guardian, Associated Press, Truthout, New Jersey Globe, STAT, NPR, Deseret News, New Republic, Forbes, The Independent, FOX 32 Chicago, E&E News, The Verge, Baltimore Sun, Pandemic Info, WVEC, Raw Story, Scripps News, Mediaite, Heatmap News and The Root
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Playbook: Trump's massive power grab
Discussion:
The Transom and Raw Story
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Caroline Kennedy warns senators of ‘predator’ RFK Jr. in searing letter — In a letter to lawmakers, the former U.S. ambassador to Australia and cousin of Trump's HHS nominee, questions Robert F. Kennedy's ethics and views on vaccines. — Caroline Kennedy on Tuesday warned senators …
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Caroline Kennedy calls RFK Jr. a “predator” in letter to senators a day before his confirmation hearings
Discussion:
ABC News and New York Post
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Democrats' playbook for Trump 2.0: Tune out the noise and focus on economic issues — As Trump floods the zone in his first week in office, Democrats are departing from their “resistance” strategy in his first term and zeroing in on issues that cost them the last election.
Discussion:
Digby's Hullabaloo and Slate
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Senate Democrats block GOP's ICC sanctions bill — Senate Democrats on Tuesday blocked Republicans from advancing legislation to sanction the International Criminal Court, arguing the bill had sweeping consequences on allies and American businesses. — Republicans failed to get the 60 votes needed …
Discussion:
Axios, Washington Examiner, CBS News, Reuters, Semafor, IJR, Jewish Insider and Washington Post
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Democrats declare ‘constitutional crisis’ on funding freeze
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New York Times, Washington Examiner, Business Insider, The Hill, Axios, PoliticusUSA and NBC News
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Michigan's Gary Peters won't seek reelection to U.S. Senate. Here's why — Washington ― Gary Peters, Michigan's senior senator and a former congressman, said he won't seek reelection next year and will retire from the U.S. Senate when his second term ends in January 2027.
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New York Times, NBC News, freebeacon.com, The Hill, One America News Network, WXYZ-TV, Washington Examiner, Bridge Michigan, Axios, Raw Story, CBS News, Scripps News, Townhall and HuffPost
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Scoop: Pete Buttigieg taking “serious look” at Michigan Senate race in 2026 … - “Pete is exploring all of his options on how he can be helpful and continue to serve,” said a person close to Buttigieg. — “He's honored to be mentioned for this and he's taking a serious look.”
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, New York Daily News, New Jersey Online, New York Post, Roll Call and Breitbart
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Michigan Sen. Gary Peters will not run for reelection, opening a key Senate seat
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Politico, One America News Network, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Independent, Axios, Bloomberg and Fox News
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Live Updates: White House Defends Trump's Funding Freeze as Opponents Rush to Block It — Where Things Stand — Federal aid pause: The White House budget office ordered a pause in grants, loans and other federal financial assistance, a sweeping move it said was necessary to bring …
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Axios, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Washington Examiner, Politico, Reuters, Daily Kos, ABC News, Breitbart, New Jersey Monitor, TMZ.com, The Hill, Fox News, NewsNation and The Gateway Pundit
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Trump's perceived enemies brace for retribution with plans, dark humor
Discussion:
Raw Story
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Trump to host Netanyahu at the White House on Feb. 4
Discussion:
USA Today, Associated Press, Al Jazeera, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and VINnews
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Trump Ousts Top Labor Board Leaders Who Backed Broader Worker Rights — Jennifer Abruzzo says she was fired by email late on Monday — Donald Trump is forcing out top leaders of the US labor board, ushering in a swift reboot of workplace law enforcement while testing the limits of presidential authority.
Discussion:
How Things Work, Raw Story, Truthout, RedState and New York Times
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Trump fires acting Labor Board chair in legally dubious move … - Wilcox was the NLRB's first Black woman board member. … Wilcox had served as acting board chair just for a few days at the end of the Biden administration — and it had been expected she would be replaced and resume her duties as board member.
Discussion:
Reuters, Washington Examiner, NBC News, Competitive Enterprise …, NPR and The Gateway Pundit
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Trump fires senior labor board official in ‘unprecedented and illegal’ move
Discussion:
Washington Examiner
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120. The Impoundment Crisis of 2025 — The Trump administration's Monday spending freeze is likely to provoke a crisis over the constitutionality of “impoundment”—one that the justices could well have to resolve *very* soon. — Welcome back to “One First,” a weekly newsletter that aims …
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A Primer on the Impoundment Control Act
Discussion:
HuffPost, Bloomberg and The Nation
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France floated sending troops to Greenland, foreign minister says — The comments came as Denmark's prime minister travels to Berlin, Paris and Brussels to shore up support from allies. — PARIS — France has discussed with Denmark sending troops to Greenland in response …
Discussion:
HotAir, Raw Story and Breaking Defense
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Departing the New York Times — As many people reading this know, last month I retired from my position as an opinion writer at the New York Times—a job I had done for 25 years. Despite the encomiums issued by the Times, it was not a happy departure. If you check out my Substack …
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Americans sour on some of Trump's early moves, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds — Americans have a dim view of some of President Donald Trump's early barrage of executive orders, including his attempt to do away with so-called birthright citizenship and his decision to rename the Gulf of Mexico, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
Discussion:
Carolina Journal
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Social media dumbfounded as Jim Acosta quits on air — yet ‘CNN rewards Scott Jennings’ — Social media erupted Tuesday with users shocked and upset with CNN's decision to let anchor Jim Acosta go — while keeping conservative commentator Scott Jennings. — The ruckus started …
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Kansas' tuberculosis outbreak is now the largest in the U.S. since the 1950s — The outbreak started last January. Kansas health officials say numbers are trending downward, but they still expect to find more cases. — A tuberculosis outbreak that started in Wyandotte County, Kansas …
Discussion:
Scripps News, WHDH-TV, WUSA and CBS News
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The Largest Tuberculosis Outbreak in U.S. History Is Happening Right Now in Kansas
Discussion:
The Guardian, CBS News and New Republic
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Republican state attorneys pressure Costco to drop diversity policies — Nineteen Republican attorneys general have called on Costco Wholesale (COST.O) to abandon its diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, citing concerns about discrimination and legal risks.
Discussion:
Iowa Attorney General, Bloomberg, Fox Business, Baltimore Sun, New York Post, The Independent, IJR, The Hill, Quartz and CBS News